TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Derrick Abell, Chief of Police
Julie Dahlgren, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of the Grant-Funded Purchase of Four Mobile Automated License Plate Reader Systems from Vigilant Solutions, Inc. in an Amount Not-to-Exceed $60,000 (Police Chief Abell).
A) WAIVE FORMAL BIDDING
B) AUTHORIZE PURCHASE
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council waive formal bidding per Manhattan Beach Municipal Code (MBMC) Section 2.36.140 (waivers) and approve the grant-funded purchase of four mobile automated license plate reader systems from Vigilant Solutions, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $60,000. Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This is a State Homeland Security Program grant-funded purchase. The City must first purchase the state-approved items and then submit a request for reimbursement. General funds have already been appropriated for this purchase and will be reimbursed by the grant. There are no City fund matching requirements.
BACKGROUND:
The City of Manhattan Beach was awarded State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) grant funds in the 2019 grant year (performance period ending February 28, 2022) for the express purpose of purchasing mobile automated license plate reader systems, as approved by the State. Funding goes to state and local governments to protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks and other disasters. The County of Los Angeles administers the grant locally. The City of Manhattan Beach has received funding from SHSP every year since 2001.
This year’s grant award allocation is exclusively dedicated to the procurement of mobile automated license plate reader systems. Due to the dollar amount of the license plate readers being over $50,000, the purchase requires City Council approval.
DISCUSSION:
The grant-funded purchase is for four mobile license plate reader systems which are mounted on top of police vehicles and scan and process license plate data from nearby moving or parked vehicles. The license plate reader checks the plates against a database of reported stolen vehicles, as well as vehicles listed as “wanted” in connection with crimes, missing persons and Amber alerts, arrest warrants associated with a vehicle, and stolen license plates. If the plate matches an entry in the database, the officer receives an immediate alert; dispatch is also notified. The mobile license plate readers can also be installed on message boards and deployed for special events and in locations where fixed license plate readers are impractical to be installed.
In order to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the project, facilitate data sharing amongst other local law enforcement agencies, and integrate with Manhattan Beach’s current license plate reader system, staff recommends that this purchase be considered sole source, and that a purchase order be awarded to Vigilant Solutions. Under MBMC Section 2.36.140, the City Council may waive purchasing procedures to fit a specific purchase. Although there are other vendors that can provide acceptable hardware solutions, the software, data sharing capabilities, and investigative analytics are proprietary and can only be obtained directly from Vigilant Solutions, the manufacturer. Additionally, they have extensive experience implementing and maintaining LPR systems in a vendor-hosted environment.
Vigilant Solutions hosts Manhattan Beach’s fixed license plate readers, which were installed in 2017 and 2020 on signal poles at numerous high-traffic intersections and at points of ingress and egress in Manhattan Beach. They also host three mobile systems currently operated by the Police Department. The license plate reader system has proven to be an efficient and effective way for the Police Department to generate investigative leads and locate suspects, helping to preserve and enhance safety in the community.
Other Los Angeles area agencies utilizing Vigilant Solutions include California Highway Patrol, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, Long Beach Police, Port of Long Beach, El Segundo, Torrance, Hawthorne, Rancho Palos Verdes, Rolling Hills Estates, Rolling Hills, Palos Verdes Estates, Downey, Burbank, West Covina, Glendora, Bell, Whittier, South Gate, Bell Gardens, Azusa, Monrovia, Montebello, Chino, La Verne, Claremont, and Beverly Hills.
Pursuant to the City’s contract with Vigilant Solutions, they may not share any of the data generated by Manhattan Beach without the City’s permission. By policy, the City will not share the data except under very limited circumstances, and only when such sharing directly benefits the City, such as in a criminal investigation (e.g., if a robbery is committed in another jurisdiction and the suspect travels through Manhattan Beach, the City may share ALPR information with that other jurisdiction).
The Police Department will continue to adhere to all federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the use of this equipment. License plate data is stored for one year and then is automatically deleted. LPR data will be stored longer if it pertains to a specific criminal investigation. Manhattan Beach police officers are only authorized to conduct license plate searches for legitimate criminal investigative purposes.
Staff recommends that the City Council waive formal bidding per MBMC Section 2.36.140 (waivers) and approve the grant-funded purchase of four mobile automated license plate reader systems from Vigilant Solutions, Inc. in an amount not-to-exceed $60,000.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
After analysis, staff determined that public outreach was not required for this issue.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a “Project” as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is necessary.
LEGAL REVIEW:
This purchase will be effected through a standard City purchase order with the City’s customary terms and conditions applied. No further legal review is required.